Controller in Columbus, Ohio at Vernon Inc

Company: James Blinds

Location: In-person, with potential opportunity to convert to Hybrid

Reports To: President

About James Blinds:

James Blinds is a growing commercial construction subcontractor specializing in blinds and window treatments for commercial projects. We're at a stage where we're investing in a stronger accounting function, and this role is central to that — you'll work closely with the President and have real ownership over how the numbers are run.

The Controller owns the entire accounting function for James Blinds as a hands-on, one-person department. This is a full-stack seat with no support staff: the Controller personally performs the day-to-day transactional work — AP, AR, payroll, and job cost entry — while also owning the month-end close, financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, cash management, and compliance. The role combines the discipline of a bookkeeper with the judgment of a financial leader, and requires someone who is comfortable moving between detailed data entry and strategic analysis on the same day. The right person is highly organized, self-directed, and takes pride in owning the numbers end to end.

Accounts Payable (AP)

• Enter all vendor bills with correct job coding, manage approvals, and pay on terms
• Set up and maintain vendors (W-9s, ACH information)
• Monitor cash outflows and flag unusual spend or duplicate charges

Accounts Receivable (AR)

• Invoice completed or milestone-based work and track collections by job and customer
• Follow up on overdue invoices with customers / GCs
• Coordinate lien waivers, pay apps, and closeout documentation

Payroll

• Run payroll accurately each pay period in Paylocity
• Submit certified payroll and compliance documentation to customer portals on time
• Allocate payroll expense by office, job, and labor category; record benefits, taxes, and accruals correctly

• Create projects in QBO with onboarding/offboarding protocols; code labor, materials, and other costs to the correct job and phase
• Partner with Ops + Estimating to compare estimated vs. actuals, identify margin erosion early, and flag problem jobs before they blow up
• Maintain WIP reporting (over/under billings) and lead post-job financial reviews

• Own the monthly close end to end: reconciliations (bank, credit cards, payroll, AR/AP), accruals, prepaids, and inventory adjustments, on a fixed timeline
• Prepare and present monthly P&L by office, job profitability summaries, and cash flow report to the President
• Ensure leadership can trust the numbers — accurate and on time, not “whenever it gets done”

• Own the annual budget with the President and department leads
• Maintain rolling forecasts and update for backlog and pipeline changes
• Lead cash management: 13-week cash flow forecasting and line-of-credit usage
• Define and track company KPIs (gross margin by job type, backlog, overhead ratio, DSO/DPO)
• Model the financial impact of major decisions (new offices, hires, equipment, large contracts)

• File sales tax; manage state and locality licenses and registration requirements
• Coordinate insurance certificates (including WC) with customers and agents; track OCIP/CCIP requirements on enrolled projects
• Maintain internal controls appropriate to a one-person department (bank alerts, President review of large disbursements, documented approvals)
• Lead audits, lender reporting, and insurance renewals; serve as primary contact for the external CPA

• Serve as accounting system owner (QBO Advanced) and payroll system owner (Paylocity); improve workflows between Accounting and Ops, Procurement, and HR/Payroll
• Automate and streamline routine work to stay effective as a solo function (bank feeds, recurring entries, payment tools)
• Document processes with checklists and video SOPs so the function is not dependent on tribal knowledge — and so it is ready to scale when the team grows

This role is scoped as a standalone Controller for at least the first year. As transaction volume grows, the company expects to add a Bookkeeper reporting to this role; the Controller is expected to build documented processes and controls that make that future handoff clean.

• Base salary: $105,000–$115,000
• Plus a target annual bonus of ~$10,000, paid quarterly (based on company and role performance)
• Total target compensation ~$120,000–$125,000
• 5% 401k Match
• 15 Days PTO
• 8 Paid Holidays

• 5+ years of progressive accounting experience with full ownership of a month-end close; Controller or senior Accounting Manager experience preferred
• Construction, subcontracting, or project-based industry experience strongly preferred; solid working knowledge of job costing and WIP
• Comfortable being fully hands-on — this is a working Controller role that includes daily transactional entry, not yet a role that manages a team
• Highly organized and self-directed, able to prioritize independently and switch between detail work and analysis
• Experience with budgeting, forecasting, and cash management
• Strong QuickBooks Online (Advanced preferred) and Excel/Google Sheets skills; experience with Paylocity a plus; CPA or CMA a plus